Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.6 earthquake 122 km SW of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Friday, December 23, 2005, 21:47:33 UTC · 3.509°N, 95.220°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 122 km SW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Friday, December 23, 2005, 21:47:33 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on December 20, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 30 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
146 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
30 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 484 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 88 km E of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 98 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 180 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 123 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 262 km E of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 163 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 123 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 231,436 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 88 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 98 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 263 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 253 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 294 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 123 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.